held up, headway approaching 7th, not fluent, 3rd and every chance approaching 2 out, soon ridden, weakened before last
led until headed approaching 3 out, ridden and weakened quickly
soon prominent, tracked leader approaching 6th, led approaching 3 out, hard ridden approaching last, kept on flat
in touch, ridden and not fluent 3 out, lost position well behind 2 out, ran on again under pressure last
behind, until moderate late headway from 2 out
tracked leader, not fluent 5th, ridden and weakened 3 out
mid-division to 4th, behind from next
held up towards rear, in touch from 4th, headway to challenge winner 2 out, hard ridden approaching last, blundered, rallied in every chance flat, no extra close home
always in rear, tailed off when pulled up before 3 out
Circus Maximus can regain the winning thread at the expense of Wayward Melody and Shannon Quest. Ian Williams' charge probably found two miles to be on the sharp side these days and while the going is something of an imponderable, he is entitled to serious consideration on the pick of his Irish form. Wayward Melody was a recent selling winner over course-and-distance although he did finish lame. He has ran well since on the flat so clearly that lameness must have been a temporal thing. He does have plenty to find on official ratings with our selections and we will pass. Shannon Quest has plenty of placed form on the boards and while he will love the surface, he looks sure to find something too good. This is Lord Rochester's grade and he should run another creditable race on a return from absence.Ehab once showed promise as a flat performer although those days look light years away now. We will stick with Circus Maximus to provide the smiles on this occasion.